Franchise: Mario
Mario Bros.
Super Mario Odyssey
Yoshi's Woolly World
Mario & Wario
Mario Tennis
BS Super Mario Collection
Yoshi
Mario Party 8
Super Mario Advance
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Mario Party 6
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge
Mario Super Sluggers
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Hotel Mario
Mario Sports Mix
Super Mario 3D All-Stars
Super Mario Spikers
Yoshi's New Island
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Yoshi Touch & Go
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Donkey Kong
Mario Bros.
Super Paper Mario
Sonic at the Olympic Games
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Strikers
Super Princess Peach
Golf
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
New Super Mario Bros. U
Game & Watch Gallery 2
Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
Super Mario 3D Land
Super Mario Bros.
Dr. Mario
Yoshi's Cookie
Mario Bros. Classic Serie
Mario Party 4
Yoshi
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
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Mario was not Mario's original name, and nor was Jumpman. When Miyamoto created the prototype of Mario, he called him "Mr. Video" and planned to put the character into many games (possibly as cameos, as he did with Mario). But even before then Mario was called "Ossan" which means middle-aged guy.
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According to Mario Bros. developer Takashi Tezuka, there was a stage in Super Mario World's development when Yoshi was a Koopa. A relic of this idea is Yoshi's shell-like saddle.
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Shigeru Miyamoto wanted Mario to have a dinosaur companion ever since Super Mario Bros. but it wasn't thought possible at the time due to the limitations of the NES. He wanted to implement Yoshi in Super Mario Bros. 3 but again could not. Two power-ups were created to fill the gap - raccoon and frog Mario. Co-worker Takashi Tezuka once speculated that Miyamoto's love of horse riding had influenced Yoshi's creation.
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According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the Koopalings aren't actually Bowser's children, despite the Super Mario Bros. 3 manual stating that they were.
subdirectory_arrow_right Donkey Kong (Game)
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According to series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario's appearance was the result of graphical limitations in the original Donkey Kong: his overalls allowed his arms to be visible against his body (as there was no room for outlines), his hat substituted for hair and eyebrows (and did not need to be animated when he jumped), and the large nose and mustache made up for the lack of space to depict a mouth.
Miyamoto additionally stated that the design was influenced by the decision to make Mario Italian-American, identifying his large nose in particular as a distinctly western feature.
Miyamoto additionally stated that the design was influenced by the decision to make Mario Italian-American, identifying his large nose in particular as a distinctly western feature.
Original DidYouKnowGaming post:
http://didyouknowgaming.com/post/31153070583/super-mario-brothers
USA Today article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20101111140107/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/11/qa-mario-creator-shigeru-miyamoto/1
IGN article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20191109000531/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/14/ign-presents-the-history-of-super-mario-bros
Iwata Asks interview:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150725233103/http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/nsmb/0/1
http://didyouknowgaming.com/post/31153070583/super-mario-brothers
USA Today article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20101111140107/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/11/qa-mario-creator-shigeru-miyamoto/1
IGN article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20191109000531/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/14/ign-presents-the-history-of-super-mario-bros
Iwata Asks interview:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150725233103/http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/nsmb/0/1
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An issue of Nintendo Power revealed that Shigeru Miyamoto got the idea for Boos from the wife of his co-worker and close friend Takashi Tezuka, as she is shy but one day got very angry at him for coming home late from work. Boos were also originally named "Boo Diddleys" after the late blues singer and guitarist "Bo Diddley".
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Mario's hair is brown, while his mustache is black. This was because around the time of Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario's creators wanted him to have a definite hair color in game, while it was easier to draw his mustache by extending the black outline of his nose.
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According to Shigeru Miyamoto, neither Mario or Luigi have surnames. The Super Mario Bros. film has Mario and Luigi's last name as Mario, but this was because of a scene where the two had to provide their full name.
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Charles Martinet (the voice for Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi from 1990 to 2023) was actually not invited to the auditions to be the new voice of Mario. He crashed the auditions and was just asked to do an Italian accent until he ran out of things to say. He knew nothing about Mario going into the audition, and since he was told that he was going to talk to children throughout the game, he started to do a more playful and gentle voice instead of the traditional gruff Italian accent that Mario had before. Martinet left so much of an impression at the recording that his tape was the only one sent to Nintendo.
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All 8-bit sprite tiles have only three colors plus transparency as a fourth color, but Bowser's original sprite from Super Mario Bros. appears to have four colors as well as transparency as a color. This is because the black background is what gives Bowser his black spiked collars around his wrists. Due to this, using cheat codes so Bowser appears in a non-castle level will look like his hands are separated from his arms. This occurs again in Super Mario Bros. 3 where Bowser's sprite is designed to exploit the black background and use it as an outline element.
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Marc Graue, Ronald B. Ruben and Charles Martinet are the only people to voice Mario in the video games. Marc Graue and Charles Martinet would later go on to voice the characters 'Mr. Zurkon' and 'Orvus' in the Ratchet and Clank Future Trilogy.
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Koji Kondo, the composer of various Mario games, tries to make music that people can repeatedly listen to without getting sick of. He would listen to his own music for hours to see if he would get sick of it or not.